Militants fleeing Pakistan joined IS in Afghanistan, says Afghan envoy

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A majority of militants fleeing operations in Pakistan’s Mohmand and Orakzai agencies joined the Afghan chapter of the militant Islamic State (IS) group, Afghanistan’s Ambassador to Pakistan Janan Mosazai said on Wednesday.

Addressing a seminar in Islamabad, the Afghan envoy said IS has become a major threat in the region.

About 60 to 70 per cent militants fleeing Pakistan during offensives in Mohmand and Orakzai went on to join IS in Afghanistan, Mosazai claimed.

He said terrorism was a common issue for both Pakistan and Afghanistan, and reiterated the Afghan government’s commitment to not allow anyone to use its territory against Pakistan.

Mosazai said Afghanistan was committed to its policy of non-interference in neighbouring countries, including Pakistan.

Kabul wants good neighbouring relations with Pakistan as it is important for the economic prosperity of Afghanistan, the envoy said.

Mosazai said Kabul recognises the importance of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, which he said will have a positive impact on the economy of Afghanistan as well.

Reports in the past suggested that militants fleeing military operations in different regions of Federally Administered Tribal Areas joined various terrorist groups in Afghanistan.

Security officials have warned against IS gaining a foothold in Afghanistan’s eastern region, where the group reportedly murdered tribal elders, clashed with the rival Taliban, imprisoned families and enforced strict rules on women.

Afghanistan does not provide a natural constituency from which IS can recruit, meaning the group relies heavily on defections from existing insurgent outfits.

Backed by US drone strikes, Afghan security forces last year mobilised and eliminated multiple IS leaders along with dozens, if not hundreds, of militants.

2 COMMENTS

  1. So, Your Excellency, tell your Government to contain (or eliminate) the menace of Daish. Those joining them would automatically stop.

  2. The militants of course will escape to Afghanistan to regroup and continue their fight against Pakistan, this is not rocket science, just plain simple common sense. Why didn't the Afghan security forces launch operations while they were escaping and in a highly vulnerable position? It stands to reason that the Afghan Government at the time saw the escapees as an additional opportunity, as their proxy against Pakistan managed and directed in cooperation with the Indians. Their Afghan hopes were shattered when 70% joined Diash who do not distinguish between fighting against Afghanistan or Pakistan. . Had everything gone according to Afghan hopes and majority of the escapees had become Afghan proxies, you wont be hearing a word from the Afghan Ambassador. Ever since Pakistan became independent, with the exception of the brief Talaban rule, Afghanistan remained consistently against Pakistan and solidly behind India. They even refused to recognize Pakistan as an independent state, so please don't believe in Afghan brotherhood myth.

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